The Canadians

Look! This goose has no beak!

 This goose has only one leg.

 Just kidding! He was resting...until we tried to walk by. Then he went into protective mode defending his woman. He was not happy with us!

 He just stuck his tongue out at us!

 And he's got something to say about it too!

On a completely unrelated note (it all leads back to hounds in the end!) please check out Bunny's really wonderful annual post kicking off Adopt-a-Greyhound Month: Still More Reasons Why You Need a Greyhound.

Get Your Hound(s) Now!

 So this month I need to stop every now & then and tell you wonderful things about adopted greyhounds and why you should adopt one or three or five!

Gwyn is actually not a couch potato...she's just never even asked to get on the couch. But she does LOVE her babies...as this photo demonstrates:

Did I tell you the funny story about that particular hedgehog yet? Well the quick version is that it was supposed to be for a friend's dog but I let Gwyn ride in the back of my car without getting it out...when the ride was over the hedgehog came in with her! That's the second time she's gotten away with stealing babies that were supposed to be gifts!

She has a sheltie friend down the street. This little sweetie loves to run her fence-line and bark at us when we walk by:

I think it's the highlight of her day. Her owner has told me that she pouts on days we don't walk by there.

Dogs are funny. Go hug yours...and if you don't have any, go find one to hug!

Travel Dog

So, it's been wildly busy and I'll have to catch up with you soon...we took a long-weekend trip last weekend and Gwyn got to go and stay at her favorite Hilton...a place she's convinced exists solely to server her and allow people to gather to admire her (and why wouldn't she think this?).

She and I took a quick side-trip to Greyhound Friends of North Carolina to drop off some supplies. Thought this was a fun shot:

These extra muzzles hang on the fence in the entrance-way so everyone can be muzzled for fun get-togethers! This is a straight-out-of-the-camera shot...may have to play around with some editing tools and create fun effects.

Blog the Change 4 Animals

So, whilst noodling around the blogosphere as I'm wont to do, I came across Blog the Change 4 Animals Seems to be a good way to help spread the word about worthy causes working hard to help improve the lives of animals...and I'm all for that! I've long believed that in times when it seems overwhelming how troubled the world may be, that the best I can do is to take action--any action, however small--to make my little corner of the world a better place. That's one reason I'm a big fan of spreading the world about local organizations.

My goal for today's post is to help spread  the word about Greyhound Friends of North Carolina Their motto says it all: changing the world one greyhound at a time. I can't say enough good things about the fabulous people who give tirelessly to help these wonderful animals. (Especially since I didn't start this post early enough and really have to report in to the day job!) When times get tough, one of the first things that goes down can be charitable giving. It's hard to rescue all the hounds they rescue in good times...much less when people stop giving! GFNC is committed to their work and regularly manage to take good care of their charges and find their forever homes while operating on a small budget. Any donation can help! It may be monetary, supplies, or time...it's all valuable!

And you may be helping someone like this:

Love this

 LoML spoils me. Not that I'm complaining! These are a few of the wonderful things he got me for Christmas:

Wonderfully warm hoody...is a pretty blue...flash setting made the color look funny here.

White short-sleeved tee

Long-sleeved grey tee...a little hard to see the full detail here...picture shows racer going from race, doing a back-flip, and ending up on the couch!

short-sleeved tee

Of course part of the purchase price of these goes to benefit greyhound rescue groups.so that makes it even better! He also got me this beautiful necklace that he found online:

It's lovely. I was in a hurry and this picture doesn't do it justice. I've never seen anything quite like it. He found it at Gryffin Designs on Café Press...I must have lucked out, 'coz I don't see any necklaces still on there. She does have lots of other wonderful stuff.

Random Natterings

Admittedly, my blogging is still sporadic. Some day I may fully come to terms with the crazy, frenetic pace of my life and the fact that I can't possibly cram everything in that I want to...or think I can...At any rate, since I've been neglecting you (the two of you out there that I know check this thing!) I figured I'd bombard you with all sorts of random shots...

The fascination with the Purple Martins continues:

They gathered on the roof at Sammy's house

Love the tail shape!

A coup! Capturing stationary and in flight!

LoML & I went over to Cape Lookout Saturday...I can't resist taking pictures of seagulls...this guy was very interested in whether or not I had any food to share:

Flight

On the way over there we always slow down at this particular buoy to check on the osprey family. These birds are truly magnificent! I'm pretty sure they mate for life. I know they like to return to the same nest each year to raise their offspring. They had two babies this year...the babies are now almost as big as mom & dad! One of them is in between here...lying down and looking directly at my camera..the other is behind the parent bird on the right...if you look at his (?) breast you can just see it behind...

Some day soon I'll tell you all about Buster. He's the beautiful English Pointer that my parents rescued...He & Gwyn got to meet up on a walk on Sunday and we had a marvelous time. He's still underweight, but they're working on that and he's getting stronger by the day!

Finally, one of my dearest friends shared a recipe with me for chilled cucumber avocado soup. Made it Sunday night and ate it last night. It was fabulous! Here's the recipe: Chilled Cucumber Avocado Soup

Thanks for Helpin the Goggies, Mayzie!

I was thrilled to learn yesterday that one of my blog posts was selected in Mayzie's Rescue Me Week contest. Now a $100 donation is being made to Greyhound Friends of North Carolina Mayzie says there were 180 posts featuring 233 wonderful animals needing to find their forever homes. May Granpa J's kindness and giving spirit live on through us all and may we be ever mindful of how a simple act can change lives. I'm reminded of the starfish story (many variations...)

THE  STARFISH  POEM Once upon a time there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing.  He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day he was walking along the shore. As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day. So he began to walk faster to catch up. As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn't dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean. As he got closer he called out, "Good morning! What are you doing?" The young man paused, looked up and replied, "Throwing starfish in the ocean." "I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?" "The sun is up and the tide is going out. And if I don't throw them in they'll die." "But, young man, don't you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it. You can't possibly make a difference!" The young man listened politely. Then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves and said-  "It made a difference for that one."

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Thanks to all who make a difference in one life at a time! Also, kudos to Mayzie for showing us this video which I have to share:

Shorter Daze

Is anyone else out there having difficulty with the shorter days? Maybe it's worse this year because I'm also recuperating from bronchitis and have very little energy. But I hate when I leave work and it's already getting dark! Makes me want to hibernate. One thing that does help is that when I get home I am greeted by the hound as though I'm the best thing that's happened to her...ever. That unconditional love combined with the joyousness of the reunion is priceless. I have to say that my training is coming along nicely. Even if it is getting dark, even if her daddy just played with her moments before, she still insists (and I acquiesce) on us going out in the back yard to play with her favorite toy. More on that this weekend. Am hoping to post a video for you.

Meanwhile, if you want some of that greyhound love for yourself, consider:

                             You could adopt this sweet big boy, Blizzard (EF Lee Blizzard) and I'm sure he'd give you kissies! If you want more info on him, or any other greys for adoption, please visit Greyhound Friends of North Carolina Again, we're participating in Mayzie's Rescue Me Week playing to win a donation for GFNC. Mayzie's blog is terrific and I'm happy to have found it. Hope you'll enjoy reading more about the most glorious adventures of one brindle dog.

By the way, sometimes I get ahead of my learning curve with all this tech stuff that I'm so infatuated (read obsessed) with...can anyone tell me why all of a sudden when you go to my blog you only see that day's post and have to click on "Older Posts" to see more...versus how it used to show several as you scrolled down the page? Thanks!